This weekend we began a new season of NASCAR racing where new rules and a very odd stage system left many fans already disappointed in NASCAR With attendance way down from the best days from the mid-nineties to the mid-2000's NASCAR has tried to recapture that magic with little luck. To me it boils down to the fact that the moment Dale Earnhardt passed away was the turning point for the sport. Dale was a love him/hate him figure, a true personality and icon unlike anyone ever seen in the sport, even beyond Richard Petty. Dale's absence opened the door to a kinder, gentler, vanilla brand of NASCAR where robotic drivers could recite their sponsors in their sleep and not go off topic. In a spor...

Part 2;One of the problems is, we the fans of the sport some times have these rose colored glasses that taint our view of what the sport is. The die hard fan can't understand why everyone does not find the sport has exciting as we do. We need to step back and look at how can the shows be made more exciting and faster paced. What worked 10 years ago may now be stale, what kept the fans interest then will not be enough for the new breed of fans that the sport is trying to attract. So lets take a look at what works and what does not.

The biggest problem pulling need to overcome at all levels is the show itself. The shows lack nonstop action, there is to much dead time with nothing going...

As you have seen reported on this website and others, there are a number of folks who are doing their part to promote or “grow” the sport of pulling. I applaud their efforts. All of us – fans, pullers, promoters, sponsors and sanctioning bodies alike should have some stake in this. So that got me to wondering, are there a non pullers that are really fans of the sport? What percentage of people that call themselves fans are really pullers, former pullers or team members of a puller? Is there a fan base to the sport? So the question is, what are we actually trying to grow, and what is pulling competing against for the motor sport fans money. However, before we can talk about growing the sport I believe that we n...

Over the countless post I have read on the page the term “key board puller” has been used many times. or that oh so witty phase “what's the name of your tractor”. I guess the term “key board puller” and “what's the name of your tractor” is intended to say, why should you have an opinion, what do you know. But I also read all the time “how do we grow the sport of tractor pulling”. Well the next time you are tempted to write “key board puller” instead write the word “FAN”, because that is what a non-puller is, he's a fan [something sorely lacking] of the sport. We will never grow the sport when we take the attitude that if you don't own a pulling tractor you have no right to an opinion about anything....

The hollowed grounds of Winter's most prestigious event, The National Farm Machinery Show Truck and Tractor Pull.

Since it's a national election year and we can look back at the candidates and see what they said a few years back I figured I'd look back at one of my own opinion series and see where I've flip-flopped. I'm glad to say that I'm not Donald Trump and I haven't done a complete 180 on my core beliefs (sorry Trump fans, but who he was and who he says he is now don't really make sense... but I digress) I think discussing changes at the Farm Show are especially relevant today. I also think my old articles, whilst riddled with typos and grammatical mistakes are even more applicable today...